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In his waning days as education minister, Masahiko Shibayama was harshly criticized for questioning whether it was appropriate for senior high school students to discuss politics during their lunch breaks.

The ruckus kicked off on social networking sites after a self-described third-year student in senior high school

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It took some time, but the matter is settled: If you're a Japanese citizen, your Romanized Japanese name will be surname first. The government will adopt the policy, reflecting name order in Japanese, for all official documents, education minister Masahiko Shibayama announced on Sept. 6. Shibayama proposed the change in May, but time was required for government ministries and...

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reshuffled his cabinet on Wednesday, keeping allies such as Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga and Finance Minister Taro Aso in their posts.. Here are brief profiles of some of those with new jobs in the cabinet. TOSHIMITSU MOTEGI, FOREIGN MINISTER As economy minister, Motegi, 63, faced off with U.S. Trade Representative...

The Yomiuri ShimbunPrime Minister Shinzo Abe plans to appoint Koichi Hagiuda, 56, who is executive acting secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, to the position of education, culture, sports, science and technology minister in the Cabinet reshuffle on Wednesday, according to sources. Sanae Takaichi, 58, currently chairperson of the House of Representatives’...

“Antei to Chosen” (literally, stability and challenge), the slogan adopted by the new Shinzo Abe Cabinet that was formed on Sept. 11, apparently means “remaining unperturbed while taking on challenges.” In any situation, that is an admirable attitude to maintain. But as I followed recent news developments, a different catchphrase popped into my head: “Hikigiwa to Shoso.” This...

The government on Friday decided to follow the family-name-first order when using the Roman alphabet to write Japanese names in official documents, in a break from the long tradition of reversing it in line with other languages such as English. "In a globalized world, it has become increasingly important to be aware of the diversity of languages that humans possess. It's better...

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will give Shinjiro Koizumi, a rising political star touted as a future Japanese leader, his first ministerial post in a Cabinet reshuffle on Wednesday, sources familiar with the matter said Tuesday. Koizumi, a son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, will be named as environment minister, the source said. The 38-year-old has been increasingly in...